Star-K Kosher Certification

Raising Cane: The Kashrus & Other Halachic Issues of Cane Sugar
Rabbi Zvi Goldberg, Star-K Kashrus Administrator

It is noteworthy that both in Jewish and secular sources, the first recorded references to cane sugar are attributed to Jewish kings. In the Shir HaShirim, Shlomo Hamelech writes¹ "Yaari Im Divshi," "My forest with my honey." Some commentators² deem this to be referring to cane sugar, and deduce that sugar canes are considered trees. Secular sources indicate that cane sugar was first used by man in Polynesia, and from there it spread to India. Darius of Persia invaded India where he found "the reed which gives honey without bees". Darius was the son of Achashveirosh and Esther and was therefore Jewish. (Hence, cane sugar seems to be a ‘royal Jewish food’!) We will examine this type of "honey" - its production, and the kosher and other halachic issues surrounding it.

Sugar was not always as plentiful or cheap as it is today. In 1319, sugar was available in London at "two shillings a pound". This equates to about $50 per pound! By 1750, there were 120 sugar refineries operating in Britain. Their combined output was only 30,000 tons per annum. Sugar was still a luxury; some even referred to it as "white gold" because of the vast profits it generated.

In contrast, some sugar refineries nowdays can store up to 112,000 tons of raw sugar at a time. Think of it like this - if that sugar were put into 5 lb bags and lined up lengthwise, the bags would stretch from Baltimore to California - and back again!

Sugar can be derived from a cane or from a type of beet appropriately called sugar beet. The process of deriving sugar differs depending on its source. This article will focus on sugar derived from a cane. It is interesting to point out that in the parlance of the USDA, there is a difference between "sugars" and "sugar". "Sugars" refer to all forms of caloric sweeteners, such as corn sweeteners and honey. "Sugar" refers only to sugar that comes from sugar cane or sugar beets.

Production of Cane Sugar
Sugar cane is a tropical plant that grows 10-20 feet high. The cane, where the sucrose is stored, looks like a bamboo stalk. ("Sucrose" is the chemical name for ordinary sugar.) After planting, the cane will reach its full height in 12 months and when cut, will re-grow in another 12 months provided the roots are not disturbed. A stalk of the sugar cane plant contains 12-14% sucrose. The process of producing sugar is accomplished in two steps - at sugar mills and at sugar refineries.

Sugar mills are located near the cane fields. The sugar cane stalks are washed and cut into shreds by rotating knives. Huge rollers then press the juice out of the shredded pulp. This juice is then clarified, concentrated and crystallized and is ready for refining. This raw sugar is approximately 97-99% sucrose. A thin film of syrup covers the nearly pure sugar crystal. The syrup contains sugar, water, minerals, and other non-sugars.

Briefly outlined, the refining process is as follows:
The syrup is removed through a washing process. The sugar crystals (now over 99% pure) are dissolved in hot water. Colorants are then removed using carbon absorbents, and impurities are removed through a filtration process using diatomaceous earth. The sugar liquor is boiled into crystals and given a final wash with water. The crystals are then dried by hot air, separated into various sizes, and packaged.

Kosher Concerns
Over 500 years ago there was a letter in the Responsa of the Radbaz³ dealing with sugar. At that time, milk was added to sugar during production. The questioner, under the impression that the amount of milk was significant, asked whether this meant that sugar could not be eaten with meat. Due to various considerations, including the fact that the amount of milk was actually minuscule, the Radbaz was lenient.⁴

Today, the issues are somewhat different. For instance, the carbon decolorization at many cane sugar refineries occurs through the use of bone-char particles. These are electrically-charged pieces of burnt cattle bones. While one might assume that this would be a kashrus concern, in truth it poses no problem. This is because the bones are completely burnt, thereby undergoing a chemical change which converts them to pure carbon. In addition, the bone-char is completely unfit for human consumption and therefore may be used in processing the sugar. The bone-char is subsequently removed from the sugar and none is chemically evident in the final product.

The anti-foaming agents that control the froth created in the refining process may sometimes be of non-kosher animal origin. However, the amount used is insignificant and would be batel, nullified, in the sugar. Therefore, the kosher consumer may purchase any pure cane (or beet) sugar even without certification.

Of real concern though, is confectioners sugar, also known as powdered sugar, for use on Passover. Confectioners sugar is granulated sugar which has been ground to a smooth powder. A free-flow agent (generally 3%) is added to ensure that the sugar does not clump. Most often this agent is cornstarch, which is kitniyos. Since Ashkenazic custom is to refrain from eating kitniyos on Passover, kosher certifying agencies cannot recommend use of this sugar. If it was used in error, one should consult his Rav.⁵ Sometimes the free-flow agent used is wheat starch. With wheat starch as an ingredient, the confectioner's sugar would be considered chometz, and cannot be used on Passover. Moreover, it should be sold with the chometz. Kosher for Passover confectioners sugar is made without kitniyos or chometz.

Technically, pure sugar should always be kosher for Passover. While no ingredients in standard, granulated sugar are chometz, a problem could arise in a company that uses wheat starch in its confectioners sugar, as noted above. The company might then "rework" the confectioners sugar into the regular sugar. "Rework" refers to the common practice of taking a product that does not meet a company’s standards, and reintroducing it back into the production line to be reprocessed. This is a concern with sugar as well. Some wheat starch could then find its way back into the regular sugar. Although the amount of wheat starch in the sugar may be halachically insignificant, one should not use such sugar on Passover. This practice is more common overseas, and the Star-K has not found any company in the U.S., other than Monitor Sugar (which produces Big Chief, Pioneer brands, and various private labels), that uses wheat starch. Notably, that sugar is beet sugar. Therefore, any pure granulated cane sugar can be recommended for use on Passover. However, to be certain all Passover issues have been resolved, it is best to purchase sugar with reliable Passover certification.

Brocha
Generally, the sugar we eat is tafel, secondary, to some other food, such as cereal, and does not require any brocha of its own. However, there is considerable dispute among the poskim regarding the proper brocha for sugar that is eaten alone. Behag cites an opinion that the brocha on cane sugar is borei pri ha’etz.⁶ It can be inferred from Shir Hashirim that the sugar cane is considered a tree. However, the Rambam writes that the brocha is shehakol, based on his assertion that the cane is not a fruit since people do not eat the stalk. Others, such as the Talmidei Rabbeinu Yona and the Geonim, opine that the brocha is ha’adama. The Shulchan Aruch⁷ decides in favor of the Rambam’s opinion, but only because according to all opinions if one makes a shehakol on any food one is yotzai, fulfills his obligation. Practically speaking, the brocha on sugar is shehakol.⁸

Orla, Teruma and Ma'aser
Orla is fruit yielded by a tree during its first three years of growth. This fruit is Biblically forbidden to be eaten whether the tree grew in Israel or in the Diaspora. The question arises regarding cane sugar - if the cane is considered a tree, would the sugar extracted during the first three years of growth be prohibited?

The Radbaz⁹ writes that even those authorities who rule that the brocha on cane sugar is borei pri ha’etz, considered the cane a tree only with regard to the brocha. However, with regard to orla, the Torah specifically states that orla applies only to fruits, and therefore does not apply to juice squeezed out of the tree.¹⁰ The Radbaz similarly concludes that the laws of teruma and ma’aser, the tithing of fruits and vegetables grown in Israel, does not apply to sugar, as it is not a fruit or vegetable, but is only extracted from the cane.¹¹

Melicha
Some authorities¹²permitted the use of sugar in place of salt for removal of blood from meat. They maintained that sugar has properties similar to salt which make it useful for preserving foods. Other authorities¹³ argued vehemently against this, and the consensus is that if one ‘salted’ meat using sugar and subsequently cooked it, the meat is rendered non-kosher and the utensils must be kashered.

Cooking on Shabbos
Generally, dry foods which have been cooked are permitted to be placed in a kli rishon that is not over a fire. (A utensil that was used for cooking, baking or roasting food or liquid, and contains that hot food or liquid, is called a kli rishon.) This is due to the rule of ein bishul achar bishul, once foods have been cooked there is no prohibition to re-cook them. Cane sugar is cooked during its processing, and therefore it is permissible to put it in a kli rishon.¹⁴ Nonetheless, it is preferable that foods such as sugar not be dissolved in hot liquids that are in a kli rishon, even if the foods have been previously cooked. The reason for this is that according to some authorities, soluble foods dissolved in liquids are themselves considered liquids and are subject to the prohibition of re-cooking cold liquids. Although most disagree with this view, the Mishna Berura¹⁵ writes that it is best to heed it. However, even according to the more stingent opinion, one may dissolve sugar in a kli sheni, the utensil into which hot food or liquid is transferred. Therefore, one may add sugar to a cup of tea or coffee without hesitation as that is a kli sheni.

Bishul Akum
The fact that sugar has been heated in the processing raises another interesting question—that of bishul akum. Should sugar be prohibited because it has been cooked by a akum? Authorities who discuss this issue conclude that bishul akum is not an issue. Each cites different reasoning to support this conclusion.¹⁶ Some assert that since cane sugar can be eaten raw by sucking on the cane, it falls under the rule of davar hane’echal k’mo shehu chai, a food edible in its raw state, to which the laws of bishul akum do not apply.¹⁷ Other authorities state that since sugar is not generally eaten except when absorbed into other foods, it is not subject to the laws of bishul akum.¹⁸ The halacha is clear that one may partake of sugar without concern of bishul akum.

Kiddush
According to one opinion cited in the Shulchan Aruch¹⁹, if sugar (or other sweetener) is added to wine it may not be used for kiddush because using sweetened wine for libations on the altar in the Beis Hamikdash was prohibited. Wine used for kiddush, which is also a holy purpose, should meet those same requirements. However, common custom is to follow the lenient opinions who permit sweetened wine for kiddush.²⁰

It is quite intriguing that examination of these halachic issues has given new appreciation of this basic food.

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1 5:1
2 Tosafos Brachos 36b
3 Responsa 3:606
4 Even back then a posek needed to be familiar with food technology!
5 Kitniyos is batel b’rov (M.B. 453:9).
6 The Rosh, Tur, Taz and Gra similarly hold that the brocha is ha’etz.
7 O.C. 202:15
8 Beet sugar’s brocha, according to some opinions, is ha’adama, but the final halacha is that the brocha is shehakol.
9 Responsa 1:563, cited in Birchei Yosef Y.D. 331:22
10 Also, sofek orla in chutz la’aretz is permitted.
11 Star-K research indicates that sugar is not currently produced in Israel, and therefore this is a theoretical question.
12 Ikrei Hadat O.C. 14:36
13 Divrei Chaim YD 1, 25, Yad Yehuda YD 69:97, Salmas Chaim YD 3, Har Zvi Y.D. 66, Rav Pealim Y.D. 2:4
14 Beet sugar is also cooked during its processing.
15 318:71
16 Shoel U’maishiv 3:230 argues that since the boiling of sugar takes place at multiple stages of production, bishul akum does not apply. This is because the first time the sugar is boiled (during extraction), the result is an edible product, but it is not oleh al shulchan melachim (fit for a king’s table), and therefore bishul akum does not apply to it. The second time it is boiled, a prestigious food is produced, but the sugar was already edible prior to the boiling. See, however, Sdei Chemed maareches bishulei akum siman 2.
17 Chelkas Binyamin 113:7
18 Tuv Ta’am Va’daas 2:225. This reasoning would apply to beet sugar also.
19 O.C. 272:8, see M.B. 21.
20 On Shabbos morning there is additional rationale to be lenient, as one could even make kiddush over chamar medina. Responsa Minchas Yitzchok 9:26